Can This Medical Herb Help Fight Tumors?

Experts found a particular compound in this herb that may help reduce tumor growth

Scutellaria barbata in a wildflower roadside park. Liu Yu Shan/Shutterstock

Skullcap (Scutellaria barbata) has impressive antitumor properties, making it a potential treatment for chronic disease, in part due to its active ingredient scutebarbatine A.

Story at a Glance

• Skullcap (Scutellaria barbata) is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) plant known in China as banzhilian.
• Researchers used DNA sequencing to uncover how skullcap produces one of its primary anti-cancer compounds, a clerodane diterpenoid known as scutebarbatine A.
• The team uncovered skullcap’s genomic sequence, revealing clues about how it produces anti-cancer compounds.
• Scutellaria barbata, known as barbed skullcap, is used in TCM cancer treatments, particularly for advanced metastatic cancers.
• There are multiple types of skullcap, and though the names are often used interchangeably, they’re different plants with unique health benefits.

Skullcap (Scutellaria barbata) is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) plant known in China as banzhilian. The Scutellaria genus belongs to the mint family, and while there are 50 Scutellaria species used in TCM, Scutellaria barbata is particularly notable for its anticancer properties. [1]

Now, researchers with the Centre of Excellence for Plant and Microbial Science (CEPAMS), which is a collaboration between the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the John Innes Centre (JIC), used DNA sequencing to uncover how skullcap produces one of its primary anti-cancer compounds, a clerodane diterpenoid known as scutebarbatine A. [2]